A/N: The rest of what I had prewritten before starting to publish. Further chapters won't be once a day.

Also, I would like to say: Rest in Peace, Rene Auberjonois. Odo was a vivid character thanks to the acting.

It was two days later, right before Harry was planning on taking the Bruce to the Badlands, when an alarm sounded in his ready room. It took a few moments for him to realize that it was from his tie in the to the Deep Space 9 map.

He immediately called Sisko – thankfully his badge was still registered with DS9. "Potter to Sisko."

There was a pause. "Go ahead."

"I assume your alert has informed you of the unexpected arrival."

"Yes."

Harry was vexed. "Why in the hell does Quark have an unnamed Jem'Hadar with him?" Harry was incredulous. Although there were a number of maps, only the Bruce's, Griffon's and Deep Space 9's were set to be automatically monitored on the Bruce. The Jem'Hadar had been identified and added to the active map systems. Before that, they would have shown up as "unknown."

"I'm going to find that out now."

"I'll stick around in case I'm needed. Bruce, out."

Harry found out that the Jem'Hadar was an infant. Bashir was ensuring it was healthy and Odo had taken on some responsibility because, according to the interrogation Harry had conducted, there was an instinctive, built in loyalty for Jem'Hadar to obey Changelings.

At that, Harry decided he needed to get as far away as possible. He didn't want to view the Jem'Hadar as sympathetic and children created a protective feeling. He wanted nothing to do with that.

He didn't want to admit to anyone that he had considered it might have been better for the infant Jem'Hadar to have been found by Cardassians or Romulans, who would have been less squeamish about using the opportunity to learn everything. He viewed exploitation of children with extreme disfavor, but to his mind Jem'Hadar were biological robots. He didn't want his views to change.

Harry knew that he was, in the privacy of his own mind, far less "nice" than many would expect. He did all he could to look after his own and the good people around him. In the end, when he met his maker, God and heaven would have to accept that as acceptable enough.

And so Harry found himself on the bridge of the Bruce. "Set course for the Badlands, Warp 7."

"Warp 7, Aye."

Dawkins looked up from his readings. "Do you want wards?"

Harry considered that. "No cloaking wards. But put up the other protective wards."

"Aye, Cap'n." Harry smiled to himself. Dawkins was still the only one who called him Captain still.

A bit later the ship arrived to the outside of the plasma field and Harry ordered the ship to stop. "Okay. Martinez. How difficult would it be to enter and scan for the lost ships?"

Martinez checked the readings. "As long as we move at half impulse or slower, I will be able to navigate around the hazards."

"Okay. That's what we'll do. We'll use cloaking wards going in. You are to alter course as necessary and coordinate with Bill. If you have to alter course, report it but do it. If we find anything that seems significant, stop."

"Aye, Commodore." "Aye, Cap'n."

And with that, Harry sat back and watched the two run the ship through the difficult passages, doing scans for any evidence of the ships having been destroyed or damaged or anything else.

After a through search, absolutely nothing was found. Harry, Bill, Stolel, and Martinez all agreed that there was absolutely no evidence that the ships had been destroyed. Lovegwood was also present and observing.

Bill finally said, "The ships had to have left the area, either under their own power or by something else."

Harry asked, "Do we know of any technology which could do that?"

Stolel said, "Could them have been removed using Tractor beams?"

"If they had lost power and were tractored out, I suppose. But what could have caused the power loss?" Harry asked.

Stolel replied, "There is no evidence that such a power loss occurred."

Harry felt helpless. "So what could have happened?"

Stolel said, "They could have been picked up by a larger vessel. That has occurred to Earth vessels in the past."

Dawkins finally said, "Our scans show nothing. Scans would have indicated the warp trail - maybe. Of course the plasma fields might have masked this. But there should be some evidence of them opposing such a move if it had occurred."

Harry sighed at his failure to figure it out. "Are they any other scans we can do?"

Dawkins replied, "The Bruce's scanners are pretty much state of the art." He shrugged. "I can check for any other scans we can do."

"Do that." Harry paused. "And check it against what we have from the last time we were in the area, during the whole original Maquis incident."

"Yes, Cap'n."

Finally the Bruce retraced its route out of the plasma fields without the cloaking wards in case that made a difference. Nothing changed and they arrived safely in regular space. "Anything?" Harry asked.

"No, Sir." Dawkins had the computer do a complete comparison against their earlier trip. Dawkins finally said, "There's nothing definitive. There is some evidence of exotic particles being present after our initial trip but our scans were too different to be certain what particles."

Harry asked, "What significance would exotic particles be?"

"Unknown." Stolel backed that up.

Harry thought about it and then cursed. Dawkinks asked, "Cap'n?"

Harry sighed. "Sorry. I am now regretting that I didn't put any wards on Voyager. Without a mirror there was no point. So I can't check it that way. And I can't think of any directional magic which I could use to try to triangulate their position. The only spell I have just points to magnetic north, quite useless with the variable magnetic fields. I can't imagine a portkey working if we're not close enough."

"Could you try?" Bill asked.

"No." Harry explained. "Portkeys require a living thing being sent. I would need to send someone and with no certainty on the destination, that person would probably die. And there is no way to verify arrival without a return portkey."

"And there's no way to ensure that it arrives?"

Harry shrugged. "No."

Selene asked, "There is one spell which is directional which you can trace."

Harry turned and looked at his research assistant with interest. "What do you suggest?"

Selene asked, "Can you send a Patronus message?"

Harry considered that for a long moment. "That spell doesn't travel that fast or far."

Selene said, "But it doesn't require you to continuously power the spell the way a normal Patronus does. According to the database, a regular Patronus will stop as soon as you stop providing magic. The Patronus message encapsulates the required magic with the message because it could travel for long distances and holding such a spell would exhaust the caster otherwise."

Harry was about to protest that it was useless but then stopped. He thought about it for a long, long moment. Finally he said, "if they are any distance away, it could dissipate or take years."

Selene shrugged. "But if you can see it visually or track it with sensors, you can at least get a direction."

Harry thought about it. "You might be right. But I suggest we try from Deep Space 9. Maybe the sensors there, along with ours, can track it."

Selene said, "You should also cast it during warp, so that it can travel through subspace directly."

Harry shrugged. "We'll try both."

Selene smiled happily and skipped off the bridge. Harry could only shake his head.

With such a short distance to Deep Space 9, the Bruce made it back quickly and Harry, along with Selene met up with Sisko.

"How did your search go?" he asked.

Harry replied, "We found nothing."

Sisko looked slightly disappointed but not surprised. "The same as the other ships that have searched."

"Yes. But I don't necessarily find that a negative," Harry said.

"Why?" Sisko's tone was curious.

"Because nothing means that the ships couldn't have been destroyed there. There would be some residue, or debris, or even quantum markers. But there was nothing."

Selene said, "There were markers of some type of exotic particle wave, but it's been too long to calculate which type."

Sisko was slightly surprised. "How could you detect that there were particles if there aren't any now?" He asked Selene.

"Because the Bruce traveled through the area just two months earlier and had scans to compare against," Selene said logically. "I assume that none of the other search vessels with high resolution scanners had been there recently. The Runabouts that were immediately dispatched don't have the same scanners as a Nova-class, which is what the Bruce is based on."

Sisko sat back in his chair, considering the implications. Finally he sat back up and asked, "I'd like to have Lt. Dax look over your scans to verify."

Harry waved that off. "We can do that, but I want assistance with a possible test to see if Voyager is destroyed or just elsewhere."

"What kind of test?"

"A magical one."

Sisko sat back again. "What does this test involve?"

Harry replied, "Selene brought up a possible spell that could be observed which could determine in what direction Voyager is. But we need to test it."

"What do we need to do?" Sisko asked.

Selene, who had been sitting quietly, said, "We need to determine if a scan can pick up a spell and if it can calculate direction."

Harry asked, "Where is Miles?"

"He is doing some work on Defiant," Sisko replied.

Harry pulled his wand and cast the Patronus spell with the message modifier. "At your earliest convenience, please come to Ops. You can verify this with Commander Sisko."

After watching the large animal which appeared to be made of light pass through the bulkhead and out into space toward the outer rings, Sisko asked, "What was that?"

Harry said, "It's a spell which manifests as a visible light, which is surprising because the creature it is meant to defend against can't be seen by non-magical people. But it's a spell that can be sent to someone who is at an unknown location. I'll explain in detail when we have the people who can help test."

Sisko was considering that when his badge sounded. "O'Brien to Sisko."

"Go ahead."

"This may sound strange, but a deer made out of light just gave me a message verbally in Sir Harry's voice."

Harry was offended. "It's a stag!"

Sisko masked his amusement. "Yes, Chief. It was a stag made of light. He has requested our assistance with some tests and he was demonstrating to me what he wanted to test. How long until you can be free for a significant time?"

There was a pause. "If I can have an hour, I will have the warp systems locked down. If I did it now, the work I've done will be undone."

"Acknowledged. We'll see you in an hour."

Harry said, "Tell him to report what happens if another stag arrives." Sisko did that and disconnected. "We need to calibrate sensors to detect the spell anyway. Dax can do that and then make notations as to how to modify the Defiant's sensors to do the same."

Sisko agreed.

The testing took some time because Harry had to take breaks as he was deliberately using a variable amount of magic for different casts. The scanners had to be set to a very exotic band to be able to trace magical energy. Sisko immediately declared the frequency a classified matter at Harry's request.

Once the spell could be traced, a Patronus spell was sent toward King Charles on Earth, 55 light years distant. The Defiant and the Bruce both managed to track the spell on the second attempt. According to Dax, the spell could take years to travel.

Harry knew that a Patronus spell could travel three hundred kilometers in less than a minute, possibly as low as thirty seconds. That had been proven during Bill and Fleur's wedding. The exact speed was unknown.

According to their scans, a Patronus message could travel variably depending on the urgency of the caster. Harry's original message to Miles traveled less than a kilometer and took a second. The Patronus sent toward King Charles traveled about 5000 kilometers per hour. One sent more urgently could travel approximately 40,000 kilometers per hour, a number Miles recognized as being approximately the escape velocity of Earth's gravity. And one sent with deliberation could travel at approximately five times the speed of an actual stag. Harry remembered how long his "prayer" to the Prophets had taken to enter the wormhole.

Next, they found a Patronus sent toward a deceased individual just dissipated. Harry still mourned the crew member lost on New Bajor.

A Patronus sent to a ship in Warp didn't dissipate but did become apparently confused. If it was cast from a ship at warp, it traveled through subspace toward the other individual. If the ship dropped out of warp before the message arrived, the stag would pause until the targeted ship regained warp.

Harry now had proof that magic and subspace interacted uniquely.

The next test required the Defiant to travel through the wormhole and wait on the other side. Harry cast a Patronus deliberately through "real space." According to Dax's calculations, the Patronus was on a straight line for the Gamma Quadrant and was tracked for twenty minutes. Harry had no interest in seeing how long it would take to dissipate. For all Harry knew, it could last centuries or just a short time longer.

Harry then cast a Patronus from the Gamma Quadrant toward Charles. According to their calculations, Charles was on Earth. Or so it seemed according to the directions the spells traveled.

Finally, they were ready to attempt a message to Captain Janeway on Voyager. Harry hoped she was still alive as it was hard to send a Patronus to someone you didn't know.

Harry was on Defiant. Hoping that Voyager was traveling at warp, Defiant would go to Warp 9.2 and then Harry would cast a Patronus. Defiant would travel on a line with the Patronus if it worked. The limit was four hours.

Harry looked at Sisko. "What message?"

Sisko asked, "Suggestions?"

Bashir spoke up. "Greetings Captain Janeway. I hope this message finds you and your crew healthy and happy. This message was sent at the current stardate from this location and we hope that it reaches you quickly so that we can locate you." Bashir shrugged when the rest looked at him.

Sisko looked at Kyra, who also shrugged, as did Miles. Dax looked thoughtful. "His message was fine. But Sir Harry should send another message from the other end of the wormhole. We can triangulate the direction of both spells."

Harry looked at Dax. "Damn it. Why didn't I think of that?" He looked at Sisko. "Let's start this in the Gamma Quadrant and then do it here as we're more likely to be closer here."

Sisko called out, "Helm. Set course for the Wormhole, Warp 5." They were about twenty minutes out because of the last test.

"Setting course, Aye."

Harry sent the first message from Defiant at Warp 5 and under cloak. Their supposition was spot on: The reaction of the spell indicated Voyager was at warp.

Sisko said, "We'll figure out the direction from the scans once we send the second message. Log the scans and set course to return to Bajoran space."

"Setting course, Aye." Kira was at the helm and did as ordered. Dax and Miles were monitoring scanners.

Once the Defiant was in the Alpha Quadrant, Harry repeated the process with the stardate and originating position in the message.

Miles and Dax then worked together.

Miles finally said, "This can't be right."

Sisko asked, "What is the conclusion?"

Dax quickly checked their readings. Finally she looked at Harry and then to Sisko. "Ben." She only used his name on duty in rare circumstances and so he knew this was serious. "According to the triangulation of both instances, USS Voyager isn't in the Alpha or Gamma Quadrants."

"Where is she?"

Dax looked at Miles, who nodded encouragement. She said, "Putting galactic map on screen." That was done. "Okay. We sent messages from these two locations." Different sections lit up. "And these were the directions the messages traveled." Straight lines traveled from the locations toward a different section. "If these are accurate, the intersecting point would be here."

Everyone on the Defiant[s bridge looked at the map in a state of dumbfounded shock. According to their test, the intersection was some 70,000 light years from the center of Federation space.

Sisko finally said, "That's impossible."

Harry snorted. "Impossible means you don't know how it was done." He looked at Dax. "How far would I have to travel to test another direction to verify?"

Dax considered it. She finally said, "Theoretically, a day's travel toward Earth would be sufficiently different in direction. The angle would be only slightly different but it would be outside of the margin of error."

Harry looked at Sisko. "What do you want to do?"

Sisko said, "I need to contact Starfleet Command and ask them."

Harry said, "I can just imagine how much they're going to love this one."

Defiant docked with the station and the command crew returned to Ops. A report was put together. Starfleet Command would take some time, but Admiral Necheyev was closer and normally dealt with immediate issues when it dealt with the sector. And they waited for the reply.

Harry was on the USS Bruce going over the test data. Everything they had seemed to indicate that it was correct. He even had deliberately warped in the opposite direction and cast the spell. The Patronus message immediately left in the direction that was divined in the first test.

Harry considered that was definitive but Starfleet would likely need more.

He returned to Deep Space Nine and let the crew spend time on private pursuits. During his travels before he left, Harry had seen Indian cities overrun by Rhesus Monkeys, who loved to root around Human refuse and get into everything. Selene Lovegwood rooting around Deep Space 9 and its bowels reminded him very much of said monkeys.

Other bridge crew were alternating between monitoring the idle ship and private studies. Some of his crew were visiting relations on Bajor.

Two days later, the blond admiral herself arrived at the station. Sisko requested they meet in his office.

Harry arrived to the office to meet with the severe blond woman. "Sir Harry Potter," she said to him as he came in. "I've heard a lot about you."

Harry looked at her and replied, "And you are ...?"

Sisko took back control. "Sir Harry Potter, I would like to present Fleet Admiral Alynna Necheyev of Starfleet Command."

Harry reached out and shook her hand. He guessed she would have not appreciated old world manners or any attempt to kiss her hand. "It is good to meet you. I have heard the Commander mention you before."

She had a wintry smile as she said, "I'm certain he has."

Sisko noted the tension and said, "Would you like refreshment?"

"No. Thank you." Harry sat down as the others did. "I assume that this is regards the tests we did and our conclusions."

Necheyev replied, "Yes. I reviewed what was submitted and I have to ask: How certain are you of the results?"

Harry considered that. "As certain as I can be." At her less than impressed look he explained, "I used magic. Magic is, at its core, a chaotic energy. However, the spells that I use tend to be ones that are tried and true and perform according to specific designated principles. However, I am the first Wizard in space, as far as I know. I know that my Earth definitely didn't have warp drive. And so I am working on mathematical calculations and empirical data based on recorded information."

The woman asked, "Are you doing the math?"

Harry snorted. "No. I tend to be good at coping in the moment. I had my research assistant, Selene Lovegwood, who is also a theoretical warp specialist, do the calculations. She's the one who came up with the tests we've done. I wish I had another wizard who could cast the same magic as a control, but I don't. To the best of my knowledge, our conclusions are accurate."

Admiral Nechevev seemed to accept that. She looked at Sisko. "You report mentioned an additional test."

Sisko replied, "Yes. Lt. Dax, my Science Officer, recommended traveling far enough from the station to allow another instance of the spell being cast. It The difference would have to be several light years but scanners should be able to find the differences in angles to verify what has been found from the earlier tests."

Necheyev asked Harry, "Are you willing to do the additional tests?"

"Yes," he replied. "Commander Sisko has his command but I have a ship and I don't have any current obligations. I will travel to Starbase 310. They should have the sensors required to verify."

Necheyev was pleased at that idea. "I can offer your the comfort of my ship, USS Gorkon."

"No, but thank you. I will travel on the Bruce. You are welcome to have the Gorkon travel with me, or to travel on the Bruce to Starbase 310. What is Gorkon's cruising speed?"

She replied, "Standard cruising for the Excelsior class is Warp 8, but the Gorkon hasn't had the refit yet resolving the Warp 5 limit." Most starships needed modifications to their warp engines, especially ships designed decades earlier, to prevent the destabilization of subspace. New ships had variable configurations or other steps to prevent the issue. The Excelsior-class refit was extensive and required months in drydock.

Harry replied, "The Bruce isn't limited to Warp 5. I can offer you the comfort of my ship and the Gorken can make her way in that direction and the Bruce can meet her on the way back. I can have my Steward set up VIP quarters. Do you wish to have any officers or security officers join you? I can accommodate additional people as well. The Bruce can also send and receive Starfleet encrypted messages as it is basically a modified Nova-class. You will be able to do any required business while on board."

Necheyev considered that. "I would love to accept your hospitality."